The Ceiling Tile Counter

Guest post by Bill Goodwin

Editor’s note: This seemed to be an interesting observation of our culture that I publish here to stir up your thinking.

Sometimes my wife and I play a little game in restaurants.

While eating, we notice a young family in the next booth or table. They have one, two or three children, some, or all, of which are not the best behaved. Mother is busy feeding one or trying to correct or control the others while trying to grab a few bites for herself. This activity continues throughout the mealtime while dad feeds himself and once in a while injects a comment into the scene.

About this time, either my wife will say to me, or I to her, “I’ll bet he’s a Ceiling Tile Counter.”

By and by they finish their meal. Mother gets up, starts packing up the kids’ coats, hats, toys, and grabs one of the kids, then her purse and the guest check. Our suspicions are beginning to play out. She heads for the cash register. The rest of the family trails along with dad bringing up the rear. He has that hump-shouldered look with a shuffle to match. Mom has now reached into her purse and hauled out the necessary currency and offers it with the check to the cashier.

Guess what dad’s doing?!!! He stops behind the last kid, looks at his wife, then looks at the action at the cash register, and.....WALLAH!, his head tilts up and he slowly gazes at the ceiling for what must seem to him an eternity, hoping this indignity passes quickly! Why does he count ceiling tiles? HE’S EMBARRASSED, because his responsibility has been usurped! A pitiful sight, just standing there, fidgeting, and he can’t do anything but count ceiling tiles!!

By the way, according to our survey, seven of ten Ceiling Tile Counters grow beards! Why?! Because it’s the one thing his wife can’t do! He’s got to let his male hormones show somehow!!

This is not meant to be critical, but merely an observation based on years of combined experience. Comical? Somewhat, but sad. Sad to think that simple, basic principles of God’s Word are not put into play. First of all, the man’s relationship to God is the same relationship his wife has with her husband, as is the children’s relationship to their parents. Like dominos, each one affects the other. It all falls on the man, his relationship, or lack thereof, with God.

P.S. If you receive a birthday card or Christmas card from the “Ceiling Tile Counter” couple, you’ll notice the signature usually has the wife’s name first. The same is true if you receive a check from them.